Absalom

How Nave’s arranged it

• Also called ABISHALOM
• Son of David by Maacah2 Samuel 3:31 Chronicles 3:2
• Beauty of2 Samuel 14:25
• Kills Amnon2 Samuel 13:22–29
• Flees to Geshur2 Samuel 13:372 Samuel 13:38
• Is permitted by David to return to Jerusalem2 Samuel 14:1–24
• His demagogism2 Samuel 15:2–62 Samuel 15:13
• Conspiracy2 Samuel 15:17
• Death and burial2 Samuel 18:9–17
• David's mourning for2 Samuel 18:332 Samuel 19:1–8
• Children of2 Samuel 14:272 Samuel 18:181 Kings 15:22 Chronicles 11:20
• Pillar of2 Samuel 18:18

The passages, in Bible order (17)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. 2 Samuel 3:3

   his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 3:32 voices

   “This marriage seems to have been a political match, made by David, with a view to strengthen himself against Ish-bosheth's party, by the aid of a powerful friend and ally in the north. Piety was made to yield to policy, and the bitter fruits of this alliance with a heathen prince he reaped in the life of the turbulent Absalom.

   “Chileab - In the duplicate passage (see the margin.) David’s second son is called Daniel (God is my judge), a name given to him in commemoration of the death of Nabal 1Sa 25:39. Chileab seems to be made up of the three first letters of the following Hebrew word, through an error of the transcriber, and intended to be erased. Talmai king of Geshur - Talmai was the name of one of the sons of Anak at Hebron Num 13:22; this Talmai was perhaps of the same race.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 3:3→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. 2 Samuel 13:22–29

   And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon for disgracing his sister Tamar.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 13:22–292 voices

   “If Absalom had reasoned the matter with Amnon, he might have convinced him of his sin and brought him to repentance; but, saying nothing, Amnon's heart was hardened, and his own more and more embittered against him; therefore rebuking our neighbour is opposed to hating him in our hearts, Lev. xix.

   “Spake - That is, he said nothing at all to him, about that business. He neither debated it with him, nor threatened him for it; but seemed willing to pass it by with brotherly kindness.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 13:22–29→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. 2 Samuel 13:37

   Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 13:372 voices

   “Absalom fled, and went to Talmai--The law as to premeditated murder (Nu 35:21) gave him no hope of remaining with impunity in his own country. The cities of refuge could afford him no sanctuary, and he was compelled to leave the kingdom, taking refuge at the court of Geshur, with his maternal grandfather, who would, doubtless, approve of his conduct.

   “But Absalom fled,.... As before related, but here repeated for the sake of what follows: and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur: his mother's father, see 2Sa 3:3, where he might hope for protection and safety: and David mourned for his son every day; or "all the days" (q), i.e. of the three years Absalom was in Geshur, about the end of which he was comforted concerning Amnon, as the following verses show. Some think it was for Absalom he mourned, but rather for Amnon.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 13:37→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. 2 Samuel 13:38

   After Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, he stayed there three years.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 13:381 voice

   “This is the first introduction of divine punishment; the first but not the only one. A long series of great tribulations followed, and an almost unending succession of misfortunes scarcely left his house. Tamar was corrupted by the madness of Amnon, and Amnon was slain …

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 13:38→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. 2 Samuel 14:1–24

   Now Joab son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart longed for Absalom.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:1–242 voices

   “As one who was himself a delinquent, by the murder of Abner. He was conscious to himself of the guilt of blood, and that he was himself obnoxious to public justice, and therefore whatever favour he could procure to be shown to Absalom would corroborate his reprieve.

   “Was towards - He desired to see him, but was ashamed to shew kindness to one whom God's law and his own conscience obliged him to punish; he wanted therefore a fair pretense, which therefore Joab gave him.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 14:1–24→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. 2 Samuel 14:25

   Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:252 voices

   “None to be so much praised as Absalom - It was probably his personal beauty that caused the people to interest themselves so much in his behalf; for the great mass of the public is ever caught and led by outward appearances. There was no blemish in him - He was perfect and regular in all his features, and in all his proportions.

   “Handsome are those that handsome do. Many a polluted deformed soul dwells in a fair and comely body; witness Absalom's, that was polluted with blood, and deformed with unnatural disaffection to his father and prince. In his body there was no blemish, but in his mind nothing but wounds and bruises.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 14:25→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. 2 Samuel 14:27

   Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:272 voices

   “Three sons - These probably died in infancy (see the marginal reference). From Tamar must have been born Maachah, the mother of Abijah, and the favorite wife of Rehoboam 1Ki 15:2; 2Ch 11:20-22.

   “He cannot do his father a mischief till he is reconciled to him; this therefore is the first branch of his plot; this snake cannot sting again till he be warmed in his father's bosom. He gained this point, not by pretended submissions and promises of reformation, but (would you think it?) by insults and injuries.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 14:27→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. 2 Samuel 15:2–6

   He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 15:2–61 voice

   “Ambitious projects are often carried on by a show of humility, Col. ii. He knew what a grace it puts upon greatness to be affable and courteous, and how much it wins upon common people: had he been sincere in it, it would have been his praise; but to fawn upon the people that he might betray them was abominable hypocrisy.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 15:2–6→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. 2 Samuel 15:13

   Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 15:131 voice

   “The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom - It is very difficult to account for this general defection of the people. Several reasons are given: 1. David was old or afflicted, and could not well attend to the administration of justice in the land. 2. It does appear that the king did not attend to the affairs of state, and that there were no properly appointed judges in the land; see 2Sa 15:3. 3. Joab’s power was overgrown; he was wicked and insolent, oppressive to the people, and David was afraid to execute the laws against him.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 15:13→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. 2 Samuel 15:17

    So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house,

    ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 15:171 voice

    “Those whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be: they will soon have enough of him. Christ enlists none but volunteers.

    Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 15:17→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. 2 Samuel 18:9–17

    Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.

    ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:9–172 voices

    "It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [HARTLEY].

    “would seem that the two things which his vain-glory boasted in, the royal mule, and the magnificent head of hair by which he was caught in the “oak” (rather, terebinth or turpentine tree), both contributed to his untimely death.

    Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 18:9–17→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. 2 Samuel 18:18

    During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

    ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:182 voices

    “Absalom in his lifetime had reared up for himself a pillar--literally, "hand." In the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east of Jerusalem, is a tomb or cenotaph, said to be this "pillar" or monument: it is twenty-four feet square, dome-topped, and reaches forty feet in height.

    “Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken,.... Had taken it into his head, had of himself devised it, as Kimchi explains it; he contrived the following scheme to perpetuate his memory: and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: or valley, the valley of Jehoshaphat; this pillar was of marble, as Josephus (o) says, and stood about two furlongs or a quater mile from Jerusalem.

    Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 18:18→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. 2 Samuel 18:33

    The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

    ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:332 voices

    But that same David, that the difference of his actions may not perhaps disturb those who cling to the words of Scripture; that same David, I say, who had not wept for the innocent infant, wept for the parricide when dead. For at the last, when he was wailing and mourning, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son Absalom! Who will grant me to die for thee!"

    “Over the gate - Retiring himself from all men and business, that he might wholly give up himself to lamentation. My son - This he might speak from a deep sense of his eternal state, because he died in his sins, and because David himself had by his own sins been the occasion of his death.

    Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 18:33→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. 2 Samuel 19:1–8

    Then it was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.”

    Verse page →Original language →

15. 1 Kings 15:2

    and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

    ›Commentary on 1 Kings 15:22 voices

    “Three years - More strictly, not much more than two years (compare 1Ki 15:1, 1Ki 15:9). Any part of a year may, however, in Jewish reckoning, be taken as a year. His mother’s name was Maachah - Or Michaiah, according to the present reading of marginal reference. The daughter of Abishalom - Absalom seems to have had but one daughter, Tamar 2Sa 14:27, so that Maachah must have been, not his daughter, but his grand-daughter. Her father (see the margin) was Uriel of Gibeah whom, therefore, Tamar married. Maachah took her name from her great-grandmother 2Sa 3:3.

    “Parts of years are often counted in Scripture as whole years. The reign began in Jeroboam's eighteenth year, continued till the nineteenth, and ended in the course of the twentieth. his mother's name was Maachah--or Michaiah (2Ch 13:2), probably altered from the one to the other on her becoming queen, as was very common under a change of circumstances.

    Everything gathered on 1 Kings 15:2→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. 1 Chronicles 3:2

    the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;

    ›Commentary on 1 Chronicles 3:21 voice

    “Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron--It is of consequence for the proper understanding of events in the domestic history of David, to bear in mind the place and time of his sons' birth. The oldest son, born after his father's accession to the sovereign authority, is according to Eastern notions, the proper heir to the throne.

    Everything gathered on 1 Chronicles 3:2→

    Verse page →Original language →